Yankees give Red Sox fans another reminder of blundered blockbuster trade

 The New York Yankees got player Jeter Downs from the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

This move lets Downs, who is 25 years old, join the Yankees. He's now the second player named "Jeter" to play for the Yankees. This also reminds the Boston Red Sox about a big mistake they made when they traded away a player named Mookie Betts a few years ago.

By trading for Alex Verdugo and claiming Jeter Downs off waivers, the Yankees now have 2/3 of the Red Sox' haul from the Mookie Betts trade.

They just have to figure out how to acquire Connor Wong and they'll have the whole set.

— Benjamin Hoffman (@BenHoffmanNYT) December 19, 2023

Benjamin Hoffman, a sports editor at the New York Times, pointed out that the Yankees now have two out of the three players the Red Sox got from the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. In that big trade, the Dodgers sent Betts, a great player named David Price, and some money to the Red Sox. Before this, the Red Sox had already sent another player, Alex Verdugo, to the Yankees.

Downs got his name because of Derek Jeter, a famous player from the Yankees. He started his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 2017. Then, in 2018, he moved to the Dodgers in a big trade. Even though Downs was once seen as a top player for the Red Sox, he had a hard time when he played for them in 2022. He only played 14 games and then was let go in December.

After that, the Nationals got Downs, but he only played a few games for them in 2023. They didn't keep him, and the Yankees picked him up this week.

Before joining the Yankees, Verdugo played four seasons with the Red Sox. He did well, hitting 43 home runs and helping score 206 runs in 493 games. Another player, Connor Wong, started his major league career in 2021 and has done decently since then.

Betts, who went to the Dodgers, has been doing great. Since joining them, he's won many awards and even a World Series. Price, another player from that trade, took a break in 2020 because of COVID-19. But he played well for the Dodgers in 2021 and 2022.

While the news about Downs isn't as big as the Yankees getting Juan Soto, a star player, Yankees fans are still happy. They like any chance to show off to their rivals, the Red Sox.